Armenian opposition voices its expectations from Russia
YEREVAN, June 9. /ARKA/. Anti-government demonstrators in Armenia were rallying today morning outside a government building in central Yerevan that houses the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ahead of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s planned meeting with his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan.
According to an opposition leader Iskhan Saghatelyan, they want to convey to Lavrov their message that Armenia’s incumbent government is illegal and does not represent the interests of the people.
The building was cordoned off by a large number of police officers, but the situation was calm.Speaking to the crowd, Ishkhan Saghatelyan said the demonstrators were not going to block the Foreign Ministry building today.
"Our goal is to bring our clear message to our Russian partners: any agreement reached or to be reached by those people who are in power in Armenia now, will have no legal force, because they do not represent the interests of the people, have nothing to do with the people's will and position, and have no mandate to lead the country to new concessions," Saghatelyan claimed.
Another opposition MP Hayk Mamijanyan, noted in turn, that Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) has as much right to self-determination as other nations.
"We expect that Russia will keep adhering to the five statements made by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs which are based on the principle of self-determination of nations, exclusion of force and threat of force and the principle of territorial integrity. We expect Russia to do what was agreed upon in due time," Mamijanyan said.
He reminded that for two months already citizens participating in opposition rallies have been telling Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the whole world that "Artsakh will never be part of Azerbaijan."
Anti-government protesters led by two opposition alliances- Hayastan and Pativ Unem- accuse Pashinyan of preparing to surrender Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan. Pashinyan and his allies deny these accusations.
Speaking at a recent government Q&A session in parliament Pashinyan said: "If we were to surrender Artsakh, we would have done nothing after the war. On the contrary, we are investing in Artsakh in unprecedented amounts (an equivalent of $300 million earmarked for 2022) because to preserve Artsakh means that the people of Artsakh will stay there. To preserve Armenia means to make sure that Armenians live in their country and bring back those who left it. And this is impossible without peace (with Azerbaijan)," Pashinyan said. -0-
